Rewind
Rewinding is one of the major game-play elements in Life is Strange. It gives the player the ability to let Max rewind time, undoing any of her actions, giving a huge replay value to the game. It emphasizes the overall theme of cause and effect, and the Butterfly Effect. After observing a new element of gameplay information such as examining an object or having a particular conversation which gives Max new insight, the player can rewind in order to use that information to Max's advantage in the game. It can make her seem knowledgeable in front of her teachers, or less nosy in front of her friends. This element of gameplay can influence the player's experience enormously. The butterfly icon in the top left corner of the screen is shown to indicate that Max has made an influencing decision which furthers the gameplay; this also indicates that those choices can be changed. Timeline The timeline is indicated by the swirl in the top left hand corner. It dictates what notable events have happened, such as a conversation, or interacting with an object, which Max had the ability to rewind. Using this, the player can see when they made decisions which can be changed within the game environment. A conversation, for example, once had, will appear as a dot on the swirl in the timeline. To go back to before the conversation, the player must rewind beyond the point that the dot indicates on the swirl. It is then possible to have the same conversation and choose different options. Mechanics PC Controls: Right mouse click and hold - Rewind Right mouse click and hold Shift - Rewind faster Hold Left Control - Rewinds to the last event on the recent timeline (indicated by a dot on the swirl, as above) Puzzles In the tradition of adventure games, the player has to solve numerous puzzles by using Max's rewind. * Forcing Victoria to move aside and let Max enter the dormitory. * Obtaining the box of precision screwdrivers in David's workshop. * Breaking into the Principal's Office. Unrewindable Actions There are some situations or instances throughout the game where Max can't use her rewind, where Max makes decisions she has to live with as the game progresses. Forced Rewinds Throughout the game there are multiple instances where Max is forced to rewind because she herself or a friend nearby is in a life-threatening situation, or Max is required to do something specific in order to progress further. Episode One - "Chrysalis" *Chloe Price gets shot by Nathan Prescott. *Paint can is allowed to hang nicely on scaffolding for Samuel to paint the wall, or paint can falls down onto empty ground below. *Box of precision screwdrivers falls under furniture with no easy way to get it. *Hit by the lighthouse debris. *Hit by boulder (avoidable). *Hit by falling tree (avoidable). *Hit by falling logs (avoidable). *Hit by lighthouse debris, again (avoidable). Episode Two - "Out of Time" *Accidentally spilled soda on Kate's book. *Failed Chloe's challenge to guess what items are in her pockets. *Made a challenge to Chloe to predict the four events that will happen within the diner. *Accidentally broke a bottle while trying to get one of the bottles for Chloe. *Trapped by heavy debris while trying to get one of the bottles for Chloe. *Chloe Price misses her first two shots. *Chloe Price is directed to shoot at any target other than the wheel rim on the left or the car tire on the right (avoidable). *Chloe Price gets hit by bullet after being directed to shoot at car bumper (avoidable). *Chloe Price gets hit by moving train (avoidable). *Kate Marsh jumps off Prescott Dormitory rooftop. Episode Three - "Chaos Theory" * Principal Wells finishes trying out all his keys and sits down to watch the dormitory exit. *Using pipe bomb to blow up door into principal Wells's office and triggering fire alarm. *Spotted by Blackwell security guard while in locker or toilet area in Blackwell swimming pool (avoidable). *Attacked by Frank Bowers when Max takes his keys or spills his beer or beans, he lunges at her saying he’s going to kill her, but it’s unclear how far he’d go. *Breaking the knife to open a vent with nothing inside while in Frank's RV (avoidable). *Allowing William Price to leave Chloe's house with the car keys. Episode Five - "Polarized" * Overdosed by Mark Jefferson. * Attempting to warn David too early (avoidable). * David Madsen gets bludgeoned or shot to death by Mark Jefferson. * Hit by falling electrical pole (avoidable). * "Two Whales" Diner explodes, killing everyone in the diner. * Giving an unconvincing answer and Chloe continues to head into the Vortex Club party (avoidable). * Spotted by any of the characters searching for her with their flashlights or rotating Blackwell Academy founder statue beam in her nightmare section (avoidable). Trivia * If Max looks at her journal in "Chrysalis", she thinks that she hasn't kept up with it as much as she should. As she reads it, she wonders what other people would think if they looked at it. If she looks at it again after rewinding time, she notices that nothing has moved and wonders what is going on. * If you rewind time after using the vending machine and use it again while searching through Blackwell at night in "Chaos Theory", Max will make a funny comment about it. * If you go inside the Swimming Pool lockers in "Chaos Theory" and then rewind to open the door for Chloe, Chloe says, "Dude, it's getting old! Try and dazzle me with another trick!" * The Vortex Club symbol is the same as the rewind metre that is displayed at the top left corner whenever Max rewinds. * The sounds Max hears while rewinding are reversed future and past dialog pieces.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsfrTcCumw8, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3eQ_hg1waQ ** In the reversed Blackwell Academy sequence of Max's nightmare in "Polarized", you can hear and see things normally if Max uses her rewind in this scene. References Category:Life Is Strange Category:Gameplay